The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Built Environment which sought approval to a Cabinet resolution to progress the disposal of number of Council owned sites which were identified for housing development in the draft Local Plan after the Local Plan was adopted. The Planning Inspector examining the Local Plan later this year would expect there to be a formal commitment to develop Council-owned sites that are proposed to be allocated for development in order to show that the sites were genuinely available for development.
The report indicated that some of the sites were within the existing urban area, although others currently have a restrictive planning designation such as Green Belt or Urban Greenspace. The draft Local Plan proposed to change the designation of these sites to become ‘housing allocations’ where new residential development would be promoted. Some of the sites are former schools with playing fields and a current playing pitch study was assessing the Borough’s future need for playing pitches. At the time of disposal, all sites would be subject to the Council’s asset disposal policy and all other associated considerations
Decision Made:
That, subject to the playing fields contained within some of the sites not being needed following the completion of the Playing Pitch Strategy, approval be given to the disposal of the sites identified in Table 1, in Paragraph 1.6 of the report for housing development within the specified timeframe.
Reasons for Decision:
To ensure that the Council-owned sites identified in the report remain in the Local Plan supply of housing development sites.
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:
None.